Journal box wedge and brass



SePt- 5, 1933- T. H. sYMlNGToN JOURNAL BOX WEDGE AND BRASS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.

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JOURNAL BOX WEDGE AND BRASS Filed Dec. 22, 1930 2 SheetS-Sheel 2 latentelf:l

Acri:

masias lacorpioratior'i 'of Maryland ioRNAL l*non WEDG N'D'BRASS Baltimore, fMd., as signor Son, Inc., Baltimore, Md.,

.p'plieaeon December 22, '1930 l Serial N0. 504,158

9 Claims.

j, ,'fjhe relates to ijournal yboxes for ,-'nrailwaycar trucks, partieularly; but notgnecessarily, to that type` wherein the journalv boxes are integral with the side frames, `and has special* 5 .reie1ence to the construction of the wedges interposed betweenythe roof 01v the-'box and the ."Jfournal.

' ,it iswell known that with the standard type o f wedge and brass i-nusetoday there is yconsid- 191 erable movement ofthe wedges with respect to the box, this movement being, contrary to what rnight l.bef expected, transversely of. the axle' instead of longitudinally thereof. The brass which .contacts with the journal yhas a neat yilt Within the standardt-ype. ofvfedge and about one-ourth vinch clearance; from the. inside guide lugs oi the journal.b ox,. thus permitting a' total movement' of the Wedge atene-fourth inch. vThe principal time ofv suchmovement in one direction is whenl .2Q the wheels-becomeunloadeddue either to cfarfroll :or vertical oscillation 'of thecarbed/with the .simultaneous application lof the brakesV pressing .beth wheelszaway from the center of the car. has valsobeen found that movenlentfin-the '25. lother directionor movernento the wheelstoward thecenter of the: bolsterocciiis when travelling katl'ligh speed and unloading ofthe wheels from `vertical oscillation orc'arl roll takes place `at the t ysaine timethe'wheels strike a guard rail- An `30 inspection-fof. numerous -integralvtypejournal boxes after a 'comparatively short` `useclearly discloses Ythe -actthatzthis movement of the wedges `within t'lf'iejournal .boxes wears away the roof of nd'alarniing owing to the 'fact that as the -jourgboxesare integral with the side frame thedevist uction of the box .roofs necessitates discarding "the entireside; frame.A

eingftherefore relieved i theabrasive. action can dby movement. of the-wedge yand remaining a' ged ,perfect condition for an yindeter nate'`,p e ri of.i of time. f l Ani inpo1ftant objectfof the inventionis torprovide in a journal boina-wedge 'of'sucheonstruction that even though it be placed originally in er position, that is spaced 'away fromthe nroof etopsvorlllgS it 'Willbe automatically brought -`.the rapidly, a circumstance whichis serious into and anchored at the proper positionupon theoccurrence of the firstimpact tending to move the wedge outwardly toward the 'end of the Ollllal- Another object of the invention is toprovide 60 a Wedge having these characteristics but'vvhich will yet be `free to equalize itself againstth'e'roof of the box.

Another object of the invention isV to provide a wedge in which theslippage preventing means '65 vwill operate tokeep'the center 'of thejradius-of the eurvedtop of the wedge 'on the center line 'of the side frame.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a wedge and brass combination in 'which the 70 latter may have limited movement With'respect to theyfornieig instead of the customary neat t, so thatanyy 'wear will come 'upon the brass'a'sj ithe brass is of softer material than the "lve'dge'fthe wedge and journal box being consequently undamaged regardless of length ofuse A further object yof the invention isto' provide coacting means on the wedge andbrass which :willoperate to prevent overturning ofthe'latter in the event of ajhotl box resulting from a Waste grab or any'othercause.` An additional objectis'toprovide a Wedge vand 4'brass combination whichfwillbe siinple andV inexpensive to make', easyzto installjpositivein 'action, efficient and durable inj service, and ageneral infiprovement v in 'the' art.

Tothe attainment ofthe foregoingandd other objects and advantages, the invention; preferably consists in the details of construction the "arrangement and combination of parts to 'be hereina'ft'er indre fully described and clairned andil- `r-listrated 1iin Ythe acernpanying"y drawings in 'vvhiclfi: "Figure 1 is a Vertical lngludinal' section through a journal-box equipped with'a wedgeand brass constructed-in aecodan'ewith my 'invenlutin',

#Figure 2v is' a-'plany view 'with a-"p'ortion'of thebx Ibroken away and 'insectiontdshow'the 'top of the l v y v A I v Figure 3 isa view of :'afragrnent 'of a side'fr'anie and integraljournalbox, the viewshowing a' porti'onofl the box in elevation withthefcover ref 1 finoved and showing aportioh ofthe wedge," brass.

"andjourn'al "aswell as the'bo'x' in se'ction', Eind Figurefis a View partly'in endel'evat'i'on and fpartly in section showing the'bra'ss'and wedge on a'larger scale. y f.' Referingnore particularlyxto thedrawings 1t -Willbe observed that 'I have shown `a Journal box 10 of the type which is formed integrally with the side frame 11. This box is represented as of the well known A.R.A. standard type and in cludes a roof 12 equipped with depending stop lugs 13, and sides 14 equipped with inwardly extending inside guide-lugs 15. The car kjournal is indicated at 16. The above described structure being standard, no novelty is claimed for it.

In carrying out the invention I of course make use of a wedge and brass combination interposed between the roof 12 and the journal 16 and both of these elements are of special` constructicnto be described.

In carrying out the invention I provide a wedge 17 which may be of the usual dimensions and which has a curved top surface 18 of any pre' ferred curvature. In actual practice I have found that a radius of twenty-four inches as compared with the customary seventy-two inches is particularly advantageous as it permits a greater equalization of the wedge and provides a greater bearing factor than is actually required, the idea being that the more abrupt curvature will act to insure the center thereof remaining on the center line of the side frame. At its forward end the wedge is disclosed as having an extension 1'7a apertured at 20 as usual and having a thickened stop flange 21 adapted to abut against the inside roof stop lugs 13. This curvature is longitudinally of the car axle as the wedge is not curved transversely but bears against the roof along what may be considered substantiallyv line contact which permits the equalization above referred to so that the brass 19 beneath the wedge may have proper contact throughout with the journal 16, There is intended to be but little tolerance between the side edges of the wedge and the inside guide lugs 15 so as to reduce the shifting tendency.

At its underside the wedge is formed with a wider recess than usual as shown at 22, the recess being defined by a flat, plane or horizontal wall 23 and downwardly diverging inclined sidewalls 24, for the reception and accommodation of the brass 19 which has a at top surface bearing against the surface 23 and which has inclined sides 25 spaced from the walls 24 a suitable distance, one-fourth inch being highly satisfactory in actual practice. Clearly the'brass may slide laterally within the wedge instead of tting neatly therein as is the ordinary practice. As is usual, the brass has a certain tolerance with respect to the inside guide lugs 15 and its movement laterally of the box is limited by engagement of its edges with these lugs. It is intended that the space 26 between the inclined sides of the brass and the inclined walls 24 of the wedge besuiciently great that when the brass moves laterally it will strike against the inside guide lugs before it contacts with the -walls 24 so as to avoid bringing any wear upon thelatter.

In order to anchor the wedge with respect to the box so that it cannot shift labout and cause wear on theA roof, I preferably provide a plurality of teeth 27 in its top, these teeth being formed conveniently on hardened blocks 28 inserted and forged into the top of the wedge at such a location that the teeth will bite into the roof at the center line of the side frame when the wedge is in its forwardmost position with the flange 21 abutting the roof stops 13; Attention is directed to the fact that these teeth have theircutting edges toward the inner side or end of the box, the inclined portions being toward the outer Yend of the box so that the teeth will be of a ratchetlike shape capable of permitting the wedge to'y move outwardly toward the end of the journal while preventing it from moving in the opposite direction. Any desired number of these teeth may be provided though in the present instance I have shown three as this is probably sufiicient for the purpose.

In order to prevent any possible overturning of the brass in the event of a hot box arising from any cause, I have disclosed the wedge as provided at opposite sides with ears 29 which are located forwardly or outwardly of the inside guide lugs 15, and have also shown the brass as having lateral projections 30 located below these ears and normally out of contact therewith though capable of engaging thereagainst in the event of any tendency of the brass to turn with the journal. The space 31 between the ears 29 and the projections 30 need actually be only approximately one-sixteenth inch. The reason for this is that it is estimated that by the time the top side of the brass wears down one-sixteenth of an inch, a condition which would result in contact of the projections with the ears 29, the brass itself would be worn out as the maximum wear occurs at the" 99 area of contact with the journal.

In assembling, it is intended that when the wedge is applied it be pulled forwardly against the inside roof stop lugs 13 asshown in Figure 1er If, however, this is not done the force on the wedge from actual thrust coming always on the rear end will drive the wedge against the stop lugs, the character and shape of the teeth 27 being such that there will be no cutting action during; movement of the wedge in this direction so that i this-sliding may occur once. After the application of one blow or impact the wedge will remain in this position because the teeth will bite in upon anytendency toward movement in the ,j opposite direction, the teeth being rather ratchet-V l l like intheir operation. Owing to the fact that the wedge is thus anchored, so to speak, its bearing against the roof will remain at the most desirable location, namely, at the center line of the side frame. of the top surface of the wedge is an important feature as it should berealized that if a seventytwo inch'radius roller cocks a slight amount the load shifts 01T the center a definite and appree; ciable amount. The smaller the radius the nearer the center the load .is kept for an equal amount of cooking. By making' the radius ofV this top curve say twenty-four inches, the actual load is The reduction in the curvature 29 kept near the center line of the side frame at all-1 ii times and through the medium of the projecting i teeth the wedge is centered in its where it remains constantly.

` It will be noted that the brass is freely slidable proper position laterally with respect to the wedge but that the space 26 is greater than the tolerance between the brass and the inside guide lugs, the result of thisbeing that any lateral thrust of the moving brass is taken by the journal box instead of contact occurring between the sides of the brass and the walls 24. Of course the friction between the top of the brass and the under wall 23 of the wedge will result in appreciable wear on the brass but by the time that the top of the brass wears away to a sufficient extent that the projections 30 will contact with the ears 29 the brass will be 145 worn out where it contacts the journal and will be in condition to kbe discarded.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will be apparent that I have thus provided a novel combination, construction and 15G arrangement wherein the rooi` of the journal'box will be positively relieved of lwear and the Wedge likewise relieved of Wear, the benefit being that the journal box will remain in good condition for an indefinite period, and the wedge likewise remain'usable for a long time, practically all destructive wear coming upon the brass which must necessarily bereplaced from time to time anyway. It is believed that the construction, operation and advantages should be readily apparent to one skilled in the art without .further explanation.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that the Vdisclosure is merelyY an exemplification of the principles involved as the right is reserved to make all such changes in the details of construction as will widen the eld of utility and increase the adaptability of the device provided such changes constitute no departure,

from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

l. In'combination with a journal box and a journal therein, a wedge bearing against the underside of the top oi the box and a brass located between the wedge and the journal, and means for preventing sliding movement of the wedge with respect to the box in every direction other than forwardly.

2. In combination' with a journal box and a journal extending thereinto, a wedge bearing against the underside of the top of the box, a

the journal, and means forming a part of the curved longitudinally of the journaland provided with means anchoring it to the top of the box for preventing sliding displacement in every direction other than forwardly and enabling it to move forwardly.

5. In combination with a journal box and Vjournal extending thereinto, a wedge engaging against the underside of the top of the box and rockable longitudinally of the journal, means on the wedge journal extending thereinto, a wedge engaging the underside of the top of the box, means for preventing sliding movement of the wedge with respect to the box in every direction other than forwardly, said wedge having its underside formed with a recess, and a brass locatedwithin said recess and engaging the journal, said brass being capable of rectilinear sliding movement transverselywithin said recess.

7. In combination with a journal box and journal extending thereinto, the box having a roofl with depending stop lugs, a Wedge engaged beneath the roof with its outer end in engagement with said stop lugs, a brass between the wedge 'and the journal and movable with respect to the former, and teeth on the'wedge penetratingly engaging within` the roof of the box for preventing sliding displacement of the wedge in every direction other than forwardly.

. 8. In combination with a journal box and a journal extending thereinto, a wedge located beneath the top of the box, a brass located between the wedge and the journal, and teeth on the wedge adapted to penetratinglyengage the top of the box, said teeth having'their upper surfaces inclined downwardly toward the end of the journal whereby the wedge may slide outwardly with respect to the journal but be prevented from reverse sliding movement.

9. In combination with a journal box and a journal extendingthereinto, a wedge engaging the underside of the top of the box, a brass slidably mounted within the lower portion of the v wedge and engaging the journal, and hardened metallic inserts in the wedge formed with teeth having their upper surfaces inclined downwardly toward the end of the journal and having edges d at their inner ends adapted to bite into the top of the box for preventing sliding movement of the wedge in all but one direction.

TIY-IOMAS H. SYMINGTON.

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